Device for accumulating and dispensing coins



May 9, 1967 A. E. RISTAU ETAL DEVICE FOR ACCUMULATING AND DISPENSING COINS Filed Aug. 17, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG! INVENT ARNOLD E. RIS'EA S ALFRED G. RISTAU BY RONALD E. BARRY Attorney SOLENOID y 1967 A. E. RISTAU ETAL 3,318,427

DEVICE FOR ACCUMULATING AND DISPENSING COINS Filed Aug. 17, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet z 1 INVENTORS ARNOLD E. RISTAU ALFRED G. RISTAU RONALD E. BARRY Attorney y 1967 A. E. RISTAU ETAL 3,318,427

DEVICE FOR ACCUMULATING AND DISPENSING COINS Filed Aug. 17, 1965 3 Sheets$heet 3 INVENTORS ARNOLD E. RISTAU ALFRED G. RISTAU RONALD E. BARRY Attorney Patented May 9, 1967 3,318,427 DEVICE FOR ACCUMULATING AND DISPENSING COINS Arnold E. Ristau, 329 Taylor St., and Alfred G. Ristau, 328 Sarah St., both of Kaukauna, Wis. 54130 Filed Aug. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 480,358 7 Claims. (Cl. 194-2) This invention relates to improved coin accept and release mechanisms for coin-operated dispensing machines. More particularly, the improved structure is directed to a coin accumulating device which is operative to accept or return the accumulated coins in response to specific electrical control signals from the dispensing machine. The specific electric control signals which are used to operate the coin accumulating device, are signals to indicate the absence or presence of a product to be dispensed and the depositing of a suflicient amount of money to dispense the product. Once the proper amount of money has been deposited, the device is actuated to either return the accumulated coins or drop them into a coin collecting receptacle in the machine.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a device for accumulating coins which is relatively simple in its operation and construction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which will provide a positive and accurate release of the coins upon actuation of the system.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved coin accumulating device which is inexpensive to manufacture and requires a minimum amount of maintenance once it has been installed in the machine.

These objects are accomplished by mounting the coin accumulating device in position to receive coins as they are dropped through a coin counting mechanism. The coins are accumulated in a chamber which is closed at the bottom by a pair of pivotally mounted doors. The doors are biased toward each other unitl their lower or free ends abut forming a V-type closure. By rotating one or the other of the doors away from the other, the V will open at its apex and the coins will slide down the unopened door into either the coin return or coin receiving slot. The doors are controlled by a linkage system mounted on the side of this device. This system includes a lever arm normally positioned to open the coin accept door each time the system is actuated. An override lever arm is used to disengage the first lever arm from the coin accept door and to engage and open the coil return door when the system is actuated. The override lever arm is actuated by an electromagnet which is responsive to a control signal indicating the absence or presence of a product to be dispensed.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the coin accepting and returning device shown in the neutral position.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the coin accepting and rejectdevice in the actuated position for accepting coins.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the coin accepting and rejecting device in the actuated position for returning the coins.

FIG. 4 is an end view partly broken away showing the coin rejecting and accepting device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the electrical system used in operating the device.

The coin accepting and rejecting device disclosed in this application is more particularly suitable for use in combination with the dispensing and selecting systems shown in our copending applications Ser. No. 451,581

relating to the dispensing of records and our copending application Ser. No. 538,513 relating to a selecting system. It should be remembered, however, that the concepts of this invention are not limited to the particular selecting and dispensing systems shown in our copending applications, but it is readily adaptable to various other types of vending applications.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the coin accepting and rejecting device shown includes a housing 10 having side walls 12 and end walls 14 which form an enclosed chamber which is open at the top and the bottom. The chamber is divided by an internal wall 16 which extends upward from the bottom of the chamber separating the housing into a coin accepting chamber 18 and a coin return chamber 20. Coins which are deposited into the housing are collected in the coin collecting chamber and those which are to be returned to the depositor, are returned through the coin return chamber.

A pair of side panel walls 22 are mounted in the upper part of the chamber and extend vertically downward above andto either side of the internal wall 16. A coin return door 24 and a coin acceptor door 26 are pivotally mounted by pins 28 to the lower end of the side panel walls and are free to pivot about the pins. Pins 30 and 32 are secured to the back of the coin accept and reject doors, respectively, and project outward through arcuate slots 31 and 33 in the side walls of the device. The doors are biased by springs (not shown) so that the lower end of the doors are brought together at a point immediately above the top of the internal wall. The doors thus form a V-shaped closure at the bottom of the chamber formed by side panel walls 22 and side walls 12 of the housing.

The doors are opened by means of a lever system mounted on the outside of one of the side walls of the housing. The system includes a bell crank 42 pivotally mounted on pin 28 in the coin return door and actuated by means of a solenoid 44 which rotates the bell crank counter-clockwise on energization and clockwise on deenergization. A first lever arm 46 is pivotally mounted on a pin 48 on the bell crank and rests on pin 30 in coin accept door 24. 7 When the bell crank is rotated, the lever arm will slide on pin 30 until notch 50 on its lower end drops into engagement with pin 31 on the coin accept door. On further rotation of the bell crank the com accept door will rotate clockwise about pin 28, thereby allowing any coins in the chamber to drop into the com accept chamber.

A second lever arm 52 is pivotally mounted on pin 54 on the lower end of the bell crank with extension 5 8 projecting outward from the end of arm 52 and resting on pin 69 and underlying pin 62 on the first lever arm. A notch 56 is provided in its upper edge which is positioned to engage pin 32. The second lever arm is moved to the operative position by an electro-magnet 64 secured to the bell crank by screws 66 with its lower end posltioned adjacent plate 68 on the second lever arm. On energrzation of the electro-rnagnet, the plate will be drawn upward, rotating the second lever arm clockwise about pin 54. Notch 56 will be moved to a position Where it will ibe in a position to engage pin 32 when the bell crank is actuated. Extension 58 will move upward pushing pin 60 upward and rotating the first lever arm about pin 48. Notch 46 will be moved out of alignment with pin 30. When the hell crank is rotated, pin 62 will slide along extension 58 until notch 46 in the first lever ar-m clears pin 30. Notch 56 in the second lever arm will engage pin 32 rotating door 26 counterclockwise and allowing any coins in that device to return.

Referring to FIG. 2, the bell crank is rotated shown fully in the counterclockwise direction. The electro-magnet is de-energized and the notch in the first lever arm has engaged pin 30 and pushed the door to the open position, any coins which have accumulated within the chamber will fall to the coin accepting chamber.

Referring to FIG. 3, the bell crank is shown fully rotating with the electro-magnet energized. The second lever arm has Ibeen rotated clockwise so that it engaged pin 32 on rotation of the bell crank to open the coin return door. The first lever arm will not engage pin 30, as a result of the action of extension 58 and is shown resting on pin 30.

This device is operated by means of an electrical system as shown in FIG. 5. The electro-magnet 64 is connected across the line L-1, L2 in series with a switch 70 which responds to the operation of a coin actuating mechanism 72. The switch is normally open and is closed whenever coins are deposited in the coin mechanism. When sufiicient coins have been deposited to equal the price of the product to be dispensed, the switch will be opened.

A selector switch 76 is also shown connecting in series with electro-magnet 64 and is selectively engageable with indicating switches 78. These switches are used to indicate the absence or presence of a product to be dispensed. When the selector switch is turned to the selected circuit, it will be in series with one of the switches 78. If the switch is open, the electro-magnet will not be energized. If the switch is closed, indicating that there are no products to be dispensed, the electro-m-agnet will be energized.

The actuating solenoid 44 is connected across line L-l, L-2, in series with switch 80 which is connected to the selector switch so that it will be closed when the selector switch is depressed. Closing of the switch will energize the solenoid and trip the bell crank. If there are no products to be dispensed in the selected chamber, as indi- 1 cated by a closed switch 78,.or if an improper number of coins has been deposited in the coin mechanism, as indicated by switch 70, the electromagnet will be energized. It the proper .number'of coins is deposited and there is 'a product in the dispenser, the coins will be dropped in the coin accept chamber.

In operation, the switches 70, 78 and 8d are normally open. On depositing a coin in the coin mechanism 72,

' switch 70 will be closed and will remain closed until the .proper amount of money has been deposited. 'Ifa selection is made by depressing selector switch 76, when switch 70 is closed,'theelectro-magnet-will be energized and the actuation of the bell crank will only open the coin return door. If the proper amount of money has been deposited, the switch will be open and on actuation of the bell crank the coin accept door will be opened.

51f the selector switch 76 is turned into series with a circuit having a closed switch 7 8, when the selector switch is depressed, the electro-magnet will be energized and-the coin accept door will be opened when the bell crank is rotated.

Although only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it should be apparent that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the appended claims. 7

'What is claimed is: j a V 1. A coin accept or reject device fora coin operated dispensing system, comprising V V a housing having side walls and end walls forming a chamber, a dividing wall separating the chamber into a coin collecting and a coin returning section, a pair of vertical walls positioned above and on either a side of the dividing wall, a door pivotally connected to thelower end of each of the Vertical walls, means for biasing the doors toward each other with their lower ends meetingat a point immediately above the dividing wall,

4; and lever means operatively connected to both doors to release the biasing means on one or the other of the doors in response to an electrical signal indicating the absence or the presence of an article to be dispensed.

2. A coin accepting or rejecting device according to 7 the first lever arm to move it to a' position out of engagement with the biasing means,

an electrical means actuated in response to the absence of any product to dispense to move the second lever arm, whereby on rotation of the bell ond lever arm will release the bias on the coin return door an will move the first lever arm to a position out of engagement with the biasing means on the coin accepting door. 3. A coin holding device to accept or reject the coin in response to a control signal transmitted simultaneously with the actuation of a dispensing device, comprising a frame having side walls, 7 a pair of transverse walls secured between the side walls in a substantially parallel relation, a door pivotally secured/to the lower end of each of said transverse walls, means for biasing said doors toward each other so that their lower edges meet at a point midway between the transverse walls, a divider wall positioned below the point where the two walls meet, V actuating means for opening one or the other of said doors, said actuating means including a first lever arm positioned to engage one of said doors and a second lever arm positioned to engage the other of said doors, and

electrically responsive means to activate one or the other of said lever arms in response to a control to pay for the product. 4. A coin holding device toward each other to close the bottom of the device, and

means for selectively opening one or the other of said doors, said means including a bell crank mounted to rotate on said device,

7 first lever arm means pivotally mounted on saidbell crank, said lever arm means including an'engaging' device for engaging one of said doors, said first lever arm being normally positioned to open said one door on rotation of said bell crank, 7 second lever. arm means pivotally mounted on said bell crank, said second arm including an engaging device 1 for engaging the other ofsaid doors, said second arm being normally positioned not to engage said other door on rotation of said bell crank, and

electro-magnetic means operative when energizedto move said second lever arm to a position to engage said other door on rotation of said ;bell crank, said second lever arm engaging said first lever arm 'on rotation to the operative position to move the first lever arm out of position to engage said one door on rotation of the bell crank. 5. A coin accumulating and dispensing a housing having a number of walls forming a chamber having an open top and bottom, 7 a pair of doors biased toward each other and closing the bottom of the chamber, a

device, compriscrank the secsignal indicating the absence or presence of an article to be dispensed and the depositing of sufiicient money having a pair of doors biased 5 6 a dividing wall positioned below the line of engagement second member to an inoperative position when the third of the doors, and I member is moved to the operative position. aetuatmg means p g one the other of the 7. A coin accumulating device according to claim 6 allowing the accumulated CPiIIS t PP 011 one wherein the first control condition is the depositing of the other Side of the W311, 531d aetuatlng means sufiicient money to pay for the product to be dispensed including first member p e mounted on h and the second control condition is the indication of the housing, electrical means for reciprocally moving sa1d Presence of a Product to be dispensed member in response to a control condition, a second member pivotally mounted on the first member and R fe n e Ci by the Examiner positioned to engage and push one of said doors to an open position, a third member pivotally mounted UNITED STATES PATENTS on the first member and being moveable from an 2,599,173 6/1952 Hamilton 232-57.5 X operative to an inoperative position, electro-rnagnet-ic 3,030,008 4/1962 Jensen 23257.5 X means mounted on the first member and responding 3,160,315 12/ 1964 Stone et a1. 1942 X to a second control condition to move said third 3,191,737 6/1965 James et a1 194-10 X member to the operative position, whereby on recip- 3 207 42 9 19 5 Lotspeich 232 57 5 rocation of said first member said third member will pull the other door to the open position. ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

6. A coin accumulating device according to claim 5 wherein said third member includes means for moving the 20 STANLEY TOLLBERG Examiner 

1. A COIN ACCEPT OR REJECT DEVICE FOR A COIN OPERATED DISPENSING SYSTEM, COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING SIDE WALLS AND END WALLS FORMING A CHAMBER, A DIVIDING WALL SEPARATING THE CHAMBER INTO A COIN COLLECTING AND A COIN RETURNING SECTION, A PAIR OF VERTICAL WALLS POSITIONED ABOVE AND ON EITHER SIDE OF THE DIVIDING WALL, A DOOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE LOWER END OF EACH OF THE VERTICAL WALLS, MEANS FOR BIASING THE DOORS TOWARD EACH OTHER WITH THEIR LOWER ENDS MEETING AT A POINT IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THE DIVIDING WALL, AND LEVER MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO BOTH DOORS TO RELEASE THE BIASING MEANS ON ONE OR THE OTHER OF THE DOORS IN RESPONSE TO AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL INDICATING THE ABSENCE OR THE PRESENCE OF AN ARTICLE TO BE DISPENSED. 